Follow the author of this article

Follow the topics within this article

Ukraine on Tuesday unveiled the world's largest moveable metal structure over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant's doomed fourth reactor to ensure the safety of Europeans for future generations.

The gigantic arch soars 108 metres (355 feet) into the sky - making it taller than New York's Statue of Liberty - while its weight of 36,000 tonnes is three times heavier than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

The 2.1 billion-euro (£1.8 billion) structure sponsored by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has been edged into place over an existing crumbling dome that the Soviets built in haste when disaster struck three decades ago.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was visibly proud at his impoverished and war-torn country's ability to deal with one of the worst vestiges of its Soviet past.

"Many people had doubts and refused to believe that this was possible," Poroshenko told the festive ceremony held in front of the gleaming new dome.

"But my friends, I congratulate you - yes, we did it!"

Radioactive fallout from the site of the world's worst civil nuclear accident spread across three-quarters of Europe and prompted a global rethink about the safety of atomic fuel.

Work on the previous dome began after a 10-day fire caused by the explosion was contained but radiation still spewed out of the stricken reactor.